Why Hull manufacturer Willerby is keeping it in the family

FAMILY TIES: Willerby in Hedon Road encourages a family approach to the working day. (L-R) Lead operations manager Steve Drew with his daughter Sydney Drew, production director Cliff Bean with his son Scott Beal, and Ethan Cambridge with his father, senior production manager Aaron Cambridge. (Image: Peter Harbour)

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Ongoing investment in its people coupled with a focus on maintaining continuous employment for employees has enabled Willerby to steer away from fluctuating staffing levels that were once typical within the sector, and has resulted in 95 per cent of the current senior management production team comprising of people who have progressed from working on the shop floor.

Over the past 20 years, Cliff Beal has worked his way up to production director. His son, Scott, joined the company eight years ago, also working his way through the ranks, from apprentice to furnishing team leader.

MAJOR EMPLOYER: Willerby employs about 800 people at its site in Hedon Road. (Image: Peter Harbour)

Cliff said: “When you find a job you enjoy and which supports you to do well and rewards you for your hard work, you want to do everything you can to support that company’s success. The industry tends to be very cyclical, it has had its ups and downs and in the past this has seen companies taken on staff during peaks and then letting them go when the work dies off.

“When the CEO joined Willerby, he took a very firm stance that Willerby was to protect a permanent workforce of full-time employees, so we do go through periods of overtime, which protects the core workforce.”

Scott said: “I enjoyed doing woodwork and technology at school, and knew I wanted to work with my hands, but didn’t consider a career at Willerby first off. When I went to college, Willerby was advertising apprenticeship positions and with my dad working here for so long, I knew I would enjoy it.

“For me, the biggest opportunity has come through being able to progress with the company. During my second year, I was named apprentice of the year, and after completing my apprenticeship I moved on to operative on the shop floor, where now I am a team leader.”

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Production manager Aaron Cambridge has clocked up 16 years of service, while his son, Ethan, is in his second year as an apprentice joiner. Ethan said: “I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do when I left school, but to go from a level 2 apprenticeship to being offered a chance to progress to level 3 has been a big opportunity for me. It’s good to work in the same place as Dad, and even better I get a lift off him every day.”

Willerby was founded in Hull in 1946 and is now the largest holiday home manufacturer in the UK. As well as making static caravans and lodges, the company also designs, manufactures and installs modular timber frame buildings for the leisure sector, and for social and private housing, through its Willerby Innovations division.

Kirsten Bolton, marketing director, said: “Everything about Willerby is about family, from the products we make, to the people that make them. Generations of families have worked here and continue to do so.

"Willerby wouldn’t be Willerby without its staff and we are so proud to see young people working with their parents. Watching new generations learn and grow is something unique and very special.”